The University of Delhi's Department of English faced criticism after raising the PhD program's tuition fee from Rs 2,000 to Rs 23,000, a 1200% increase. Protests from the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Teachers Front led to a reduction to Rs 17,118, but concerns persist. Academics argue that even this is unfair, being nine times the original fee. The fee hike may discourage students from pursuing literary research, impacting PhD numbers. Critics connect the increase to the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) and question its alignment with the public-funded nature of central universities.